~ affirmations and words to uplift

Monthly Archives: October 2015

“There in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’” (Revelation 4:1)

So often in life we have the feeling that a door has closed to something that had great meaning for us. As sad as it may seem that this door has closed perhaps that old saying is correct, that when one door closes another one opens. At least that is always our hope. This now closed door can provide us with a time to examine how we view this occurrence. Maybe we are too quick to label it as negative. So, rather than dwell on the fact that this door before us now closed, maybe what has actually occurred is that the first door has closed from the draft of a new door God is swinging open, with new opportunity presenting itself. This new opportunity could very well be one that we would have never recognized if we were too invested in the journey through that original door. That door that has closed could be the best thing that ever happened to us. The draft from this new door opening is something we can affirm begins a new and exciting journey, replete with new opportunities to learn and grow. New corridors are exposed from which we can receive inspiration and insight.

New doors opening are all part of God’s divine ongoing creation. Since we know that we never take our journey of life alone, but that the presence of God/Spirit is always right where we are, we can rest assured that exciting adventures and experiences await us.

“Other seed feel into the good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. And Jesus continued, “Let everyone with ears to hear listen!” (Mark 4: 8-9)

As I read and re-read this parable last week something I had never thought of occurred to me. This guy, this sower, was dropping a lot of his seed along the way. He was wasting a precious gift that he possessed. His desire was to plant and reap a harvest, but through his negligence, he was setting himself up to be disappointed when he finally planted and realized he no longer had enough seed to fulfill his desired outcome. I think we often become like this guy with the seed. The gifts of God’s amazing blessing are poured out to us in abundance and we take them for granted. We too often drop the gifts we have been given onto the rocky ground, or the shallow ground, which is the same as not accepting the gift at all.

God has given us possibility and we too often have not valued that and so we discard it and move along bumping into life not seeing our world and life truthfully and not seeing how God is guiding and directing our lives toward the abundant harvest. We bump into the challenges and obstacles of life and we can’t figure out why our life isn’t working. We forget, in our rush to move through life, that we have dropped our trust in the fundamental presence of God that has been given to us to undergird and support our each and every breath, activity and thought.

We need to be fully in connection with the presence of God/Spirit. When we do so we truly do begin to plant our lives in the full complete and good soil of God’s divinity. This God given present moment is a mighty seed, it is a beautiful seed, it is a powerful seed. It is a seed of abundant blessing and truth, it is a seed of perfection, it is a seed of pure unconditional grace. Planting the seed in good soil is our affirmation that the power of Spirit God is active and alive in our lives this day and always.

Affirmation: “The seed God has planted in me produces enormous fruit and is the outcome of my faith in the amazing possibilities of Spirit.”

We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.

Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life.

Please join us each Sunday for our SpiritSong service at 5:30 PM in our Social Hall at First Christian Church, North Hollywood, CA. This Contemporary Celebration and Praise service is an hour of great music from our wonderful band and singers, inspiring messages and good fellowship. Those things in life that you have been seeking have also been seeking you. Now is a good time to receive them. We will lift one another to live exciting, abundant new lives of possibility and purpose.

Also, join me on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8 PM for an hour of guided and silent meditation, reflection, affirmation and prayer. As always, we will share communion together. Everyone is welcome. We are an open and affirming congregation.

“…but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”

(1 John 1: 7)

Last week I was in San Anselmo, California on the campus of the San Francisco Theological Seminary. I serve on the Alumni Council and we were having a retreat and a series of meetings. At one of these meetings the subject of “the church is changing and we must begin to change with it” came up. Finally someone reminded us that the church has already changed, too many have missed that fact, and it is time to get in tune with what God is doing and continues to do through creation in our world. This makes sense to me, God should be changing, changing the world, changing the church and changing us at each and every moment so we can be an exciting part of God’s change so we can thrive. The alternative is to just sit in the dark, in the corner of the room, and wonder what happened.

Have you ever watched the flame of a candle? Really looked at it as you meditated on the love and presence of God? In the flicker of a flame there is the light of Spirit. It moves in perfect rhythm as it dances and changes with the flow of air around it. This movement of air, the wind, is often called the breath of God. This movement of God’s breath around us is a constant reminder that God is an always-evolving force. Look into someone’s eye while in the presence of this candle. You will see the reflection of that flame. The light of God in them is reflected by that candle flame. You see it in them, and they see it in you, but we must stop and look for it. Unless we remain watchful we will miss the presence of Spirit as it appears, grows, changes and creates in and through us in miraculous and unexpected ways. Take time to notice what God is doing in the world and recognize how your individual story and life are a part of God’s universal world and story. The intersection is truly magnificent.

In the presence of even a single a candle we can see what is present all around us, the light of God in each and every one of us.

Affirmation: “God is my candle in the darkness. No longer is my path unclear.”

Losing My Religion: True Colors

“Instead of saying ‘God wouldn’t give you more than you could handle,’ you could say, ‘Let me come over and do some laundry.’”

So begins an article entitled, “Stupid Phrases for People in Crisis.” In addition to the ever popular “more than you can handle” phrase, the author lists statements we often say when we encounter friends in crisis, consolations that fall flat in the face of human pain. Things like, “It gets better,” or “When God shuts a door, he opens a window,” “Did you pray about it?,” and my personal favorite: “When I think about your situation, I’m reminded how blessed I am.”

We mean to help, but often our efforts fall flat, and worse: sometimes when we see friends in crisis, we add to the pain.

So, I prayed, but where is the answer to my prayer? How often have we finished our prayer, a beautiful prayer, a heartfelt prayer, and then wondered about our answer? The answers to our prayers do come, but it often takes time.

We can begin by affirming the process has begun, for God has heard our prayer and the God who is Creation itself has continued to create. On that wonderful unseen side of life amazing things are happening and God is forming our blessing uniquely tailored just for us. While we wait, and continue our affirmations, we can also add to that prayer that we recognize the answers as they occur.

In the process of that enfoldment we may, and often do, get discouraged. We may decide how the answer has to look or how it will be made known to us. But we must always remember, God is the one doing the creating; we have to provide a willing place for the miracle to show up.

God has not and does not forget us. We must never forget that this Divine Spirit is forever cradling us in its perfect embrace. We forget that when we think the answer is not coming.

When we concentrate on thinking our answer is never coming we begin to pray the problem. Our focus is entirely on that it hasn’t happened, instead of being firmly planted in the belief that it is becoming. When we place our thought on the answer is being formed we make a mighty shift, away from praying the problem and onto praying that we will see and recognize our answer right before us. We can pray the answer when we know and affirm that divine movement is right now taking place on our behalf by the creative power of God.

We too often become like birds who have forgotten they have wings. The power to take flight is always available to them, but they need to recognize that and take action to soar.

The power of God is always right here – with us at this and every moment. Know today that God is, and continues, to bless you abundantly.

Affirmation: “I set today a new intention, to visualize God moving in creation with the answers to my prayers even now taking their perfect form.”

We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.

Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life.

Please join us each Sunday for our SpiritSong service at 5:30 PM in our Social Hall at First Christian Church, North Hollywood, CA. This Contemporary Celebration and Praise service is an hour of great music from our wonderful band and singers, inspiring messages and good fellowship. Those things in life that you have been seeking have also been seeking you. Now is a good time to receive them. We will lift one another to live exciting, abundant new lives of possibility and purpose.

Also, join me on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8 PM for an hour of guided and silent meditation, reflection, affirmation and prayer. As always, we will share communion together. Everyone is welcome. We are an open and affirming congregation.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge the Divine presence, and God will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

“You can never trust God too much.

Why is it that some people do not bear fruit?

It is because they have no trust

Either in God or in themselves.” — Meister Eckhart

One of the most amazing gifts that God has ever given to us is the gift of trust. It is a gift that has to be experienced by our willingness in allowing God to be the full and positive expression of perfect life moving through us right where we are.

If we fail to trust that God will continue to bless and nurture us, then we should not be surprised when our life continues to look bleak and void.

When we trust God amazing things happen. We understand that God sent us Jesus as an example of how we can live our lives. When we trust in God we understand that God sent us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to surround us with a never ending, unlimited blessing of the Divine presence.

The gift of trust is amazing because this gift we unwrap is not the gift we always possess. Once unwrapped, if we continue to place our belief in an abundant and all-powerful God, our trust will grow. The gift will expand and it will grow right along with us, through all of our life experiences and through each and every thought we have.

I have learned that it is safe to let go and tear down the walls we too often build between God, and ourselves. I have also learned that we must be diligent in our trust or we run the risk of building new walls, thicker walls and taller walls. When things are challenging we can feel alone, but our ability to trust tears down that wall and gives us new insight into God working in and through our lives.

Allow God to deliver to you this day a new trust in the possibilities of God in your life. This then will not be just another day, but perhaps your best day ever.

Affirmation: “This is the best day ever, for I place my trust, my belief and my faith in the presence of God’s abiding goodness.”